Tennessee VW workers REJECT unionization bid by UAW

posted at 8:31 am on February 15, 2014 by Jazz Shaw

People around Chattanooga, Tennessee have been on pins and needles this past week, awaiting the results of a vote by workers at the Volkswagen manufacturing plant in their area deciding whether or not they would invite United Auto Workers into their town to organize workers. The wait is over, and the workers have told the giant auto workers ‘ union to pack sand.

Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee have voted against union representation in a devastating defeat for the United Auto Workers union’s effort to make inroads in the South.

The 712-626 vote released late Friday was surprising for many labor experts and union supporters who expected a UAW win because Volkswagen tacitly endorsed the union and even allowed organizers into the Chattanooga factory to make sales pitches.

“This is like an alternate universe where everything is turned upside down,” Cliff Hammond, a labor lawyer at in Detroit, told The Wall Street Journal, noting that companies usually fight union drives.

That’s actually a fairly disingenuous reading of VW’s position. As it happens, I was right in Chattanooga for the past couple of weeks working on an unrelated project and was able to speak with a number of people on both sides of the issue, as well as follow all of the local coverage. VW never seemed to be in favor of the UAW. They simply wanted to provide the employees with some form of works council, similar to what they normally have in Europe, allowing them effective lines of communication with the management. Whether that was a locally organized structure or through the auspices of a union didn’t seem to much matter.

But the workers themselves and all of their neighbors were not short on opinions. One of the big questions seemed to be exactly what it would cost them to invite the UAW into their plant and what they would get in return. As this recent editorial in the local paper reflected, many of the workers had a clue as to where their dues money would be going.

First and foremost, the UAW enters the room. With it, VW employees who choose to join will dole out two and a half hours of pay per month for what the union says is a — wink, wink, nudge, nudge — strike fund. But the UAW would never strike the nice plant that allowed it a foothold in the South, right?

Where, in fact, does the UAW in general, among other places, put its money? In the 2013-14 campaign cycle so far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, it has given $71,901 to Democrat candidates and zero, zip, nada to Republican candidates.

In the 2012 cycle, it gave $1,427,731 to Democrat candidates and $45,053 in efforts against Republican candidates. Republican candidates, meanwhile, got nothing.

VW workers, that would be your money.

Contrary to national popular opinion, the locals are still not big fans of Democrats – or politicians in general, from what I saw – and flushing part of their paychecks into a political machine rather than ensuring the security of their families was not a popular option. Still, the expensive campaign by the union swayed many of the workers into voting for the proposal… but not enough. Meanwhile, VW seemed to handle the entire affair with class.

Sebastian Patta, vice president for human resources, said, “While there was intense outside interest in this election, our managers and employees inside the plant maintained high quality production and continued to work together in a calm and respectful manner.”

“Our commitment to Tennessee is a long-term investment. We look forward to continuing to work with the state of Tennessee and the city of Chattanooga to support job creation, growth, and economic development today and into the future,” Fischer added.

Less reported in the course of this debate was the potential expansion of the plant and how Tennessee would handle it. VW has been looking to add yet another production line in Chattanooga for sports utility vehicles. This would generate even more jobs, both directly and indirectly. When the company first moved into the area, the state put together a generous package of incentives to help them get off the ground. There was already talk of a smaller, secondary package to get the new line started, but local politicians were saying that if the union came in and began kneecapping VW, such a package would have less of a chance of being passed.

In addition to that, people I spoke with also questioned why they needed such big gun protection “against” VW in the first place. Working conditions at the plant were described as very safe, the pay there was some of the best in the area and the benefits plan offered by the automaker is generous. Why start poking a stick in their eye?

Chattanooga has undergone a serious rebirth over the past couple of decades. Once a declining area with crumbling infrastructure, a lot of work and smart investment has turned the city into a tourist destination while simultaneously seeing several major employers – including Amazon, in addition to VW – opening up shop and bringing jobs to the low tax, high worker availability area. With the rejection of the UAW, residents seem hopeful that this trend will continue.

President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers…

Obama said everyone was in favor of the UAW representing Volkswagen except for local politicians who “are more concerned about German shareholders than American workers,” according to a Democratic aide who attended the meeting with Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

How wrong can you be? The reason that position turned out to be such a bust for the President is an important one. After fierce debate, the workers were allowed to cast secret ballots in this vote, eliminating the union intimidation tactics which many feared. When they were left free to make their choice without worrying about repercussions, the workers chose to represent themselves locally and not invite the UAW to come in and begin killing the goose which has thus far been laying golden eggs.

In the end, though, the question of whether or not to unionize at this particular plant is one that was left to the workers and they are the ones who made the decision not to unionize. That’s how it ought to be in every part of the country, to be honest, and it’s one of the things that makes “right to work” laws far better than the “closed shop” rules that dominate in much of the north and (what’s left of) the industrial Midwest. The idea that people should be forced to be part of a Union in order to get a job is something that ought to be considered a relic of the 20th Century that ought to be abandoned..

UAW deserves this loss. Not a hater of unions but the corrupt unions like SEU and UAW threw their members under the bus for decades including shilling for obamacare which is a body blow to the middle class.

They care moe about democrats than they do their members. They deserve to waste away unless they change

You may have a point Doc, but in reality, the plan has always been to force non-unionized companies out of business leaving the unions to scoop up the scraps and build the civilian workers party. This is intended not to become a real workforce but the beginning of the resurrection of the old German SA. So far, they have not been successful. Pray they never are.

Most unions have thrown their people under the bus but their constituency is ok with it because they gain. Check out what teachers unions do to keep dems in office. The st paul teachers threatened to go on strike when 5o per cent of students are having a hard time meeting grad standards. Any one of us would have taken what the schoolboard offered but the greedy teachers wanted more. Unions are a Ponzi scheme for democrats. The country needs right to work.

It was a close vote, 53% to 47% the margin of loss was only 86 votes. The UAW won’t take this lying down. There is way to much money and reputation at steak for them. They have the resources to keep hammering away, and wear their opponents down. You will see in the not to distant future that this VW plant will be unionized. It has to be, the UAW can tolerate no other outcome.

To draw on recent events that parallel this. Gay Marrage! Voted down by large numbers when and where ever it was voted on. But somehow became the single most important issue in the history of issues. So just like the gay lobby, the UAW will push and push to get what they want no matter the cost or consequences.

Believe it or not, that was pretty much the entire conversation I had with one guy at breakfast in a diner downtown there this week. He said Detroit was all the example he needed not to support this. He was old enough to remember what a “craphole” (his term, not mine) Chattanooga had become in the early 90’s. They are finally back on their feet and don’t care to turn back.

This is the direct result of the UAW’s decision to kill the car companies with legacy costs. No flexibility in negotiations, which ended with US, THE TAXPAYERS, losing over $10 BILLION dollars rescuing the car companies.

UAW = United Against Work. Add to the editorial above about the VW workers not wanting to give 2.5hours pay/month for the “strike fund” and Democrats, but there is also the money pit of Black Lake, which “borrowed” $40M from the strike fund. It’s in Northern Michigan and VW workers would never get invited to the place. Heck, nearly none of the MI rank & file have ever been there either. This pretty blunt report is from Hema-Reuters, of all places.

They’ll just keep trying until they get the result they want. That’s in the progressive manual on how to win elections: Keep recounting and retrying until you get the desired result, permanently ushering in your

Detroit has gone from the #1 city in per capita income in the 50s to a craphole today. From a population of 1,8000,000 then to 684,000 (and falling) today. Chattanooga didn’t want that happening to them.

“The election results remain to be certified by the NLRB,” Fischer, said.

What are the odds this ends up in an “investigation” and maybe a re-vote? Only reason I think it might not happen would be the prospect of being humiliated again and not because they respect the rule of law.

No kidding. The nephew of a former co-worker works in a Cadillac plant. His job is to tighten the lugnuts of tires ON ONE SIDE ONLY. For that he was paid $60/hour. I asked my co-worker how he got that job. His answer: “Seniority”. So you pay someone $60/hour and he didn’t even have to check all four tires? Now you know why your Caddy’s so expensive.

Saw that little tidbit on FNC this morning. Remember: the unions are nothing more than money laundering operations for the demonrats. It doesn’t matter that many, if not most, of their members oppose the party agenda. The goons at the top keep them in line. If not, they’ll get a visit from said goons to straighten them out. “On The Waterfront” might as well have been a documentary, and it’s more than 60 years old. I’m so glad the UAW is dying. They deserve to die.

Volkswagen had a plant in the U.S.—only then, the plant was in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania.

“In one of the early walk-outs, workers chanted “No Money, No Bunny” referring to their refusal to build the VW Rabbit unless they were paid wages and benefits equal to those of UAW workers at the Detroit automakers.”

Not to rain on your argument… I agree, the $60 an hour is ridiculous… But it would be stupid to have the worker doing both sides of the car. First is the fact that you want the cars to go from start to finish moving as fast as possible. Second since the cars are moving, having a person move from one side of the vehicle to the other poses a significant safety hazard.

When they were left free to make their choice without worrying about repercussions, the workers chose to represent themselves locally and not invite the UAW to come in and begin killing the goose which has thus far been laying golden eggs.

Liberals are all for “choice”…except for school vouchers and votes to unionize!!!

The UAW isn’t going to take this lying down. It won’t take long before protests start randomly occurring and thugs will show up to crack skulls and sabotage shipments of parts and equipment destined for the factory.

It ain’t over… These goons won’t stop. The UAW is dead if it can’t get into the south.

“After 53 percent of the workers voted against his union, King said he was outraged at what he called “outside interference” in the election. He wouldn’t rule out challenging the outcome with the National Labor Relations Board. “It’s never happened in this country before that the U.S. senator, the governor, the leader of the House, the legislature here, threatened the company with no incentives, threatened workers with a loss of product,” King said. “We’ll look at all our options in the next few days.”

Might be time to drop a few travel-bucks in Chattanooga. We’ve been looking for a central location for a girls weekend.

bettycooper on February 15, 2014 at 10:07 AM

Good idea. We should reward entities that are doing the right thing. Also tell people you appreciate them. I was going past the produce dept. at the IGA awhile ago and realized the produce dept. always looks beautiful. So I told the lady in charge of it that. Most of us don’t get appreciation for what we do well.

President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers…

This is the direct result of the UAW’s decision to kill the car companies with legacy costs. No flexibility in negotiations, which ended with US, THE TAXPAYERS, losing over $10 BILLION dollars rescuing the car companies.

conservative hispanic on February 15, 2014 at 8:54 AM

Not to quibble, but the cost to taxpayers of the auto bailouts was far, far more than $10 billion. If you add up all the direct payments, preferential tax treatments, losses on stock sales, etc., the total cost to taxpayers is somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 billion (according to industry analysts).

There was a need for unions in the early days in some places. I’m from steel country so we had unions up the whatever. They and the environmentalists drove the steel companies out. However the coal company was nothing more than slavery in the olden days. And as much as we deplore actors, they need a union. Their business is so diverse.

Ta111 on February 15, 2014 at 9:26 AM
so does wages,and working conditions, as rouge management grows stronger!! back to the ” company store.’

svs22422 on February 15, 2014 at 10:05 AM

Guess you didn’t read the entire WSJ article. These employees have it better than their union counterparts in Detroit and money isn’t being stolen from their paychecks to boot. Maybe you should research before you post nonsense.

I lived in Dayton, OH for awhile and knew a few people that worked at the Toyota plant in N. Kentucky. UAW has been trying to unionize it for decades. The UAW is a tarnished brand. Workers don’t want it. IT will take a decade to recover from the bailout.

The UAW may well spilt in the near future. We know GM is still a bankrupt company. Without Obama in the White House they would have to face significant layoffs, plant closing/moving etc.. What does this due to the motivations of UAW Ford workers vs UAW GM workers? Will UAW Ford workers support GM? I doubt it. The invisible hand has the last laugh.

President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers…

My God.

I’ve been disgusted by what Obama has said but that right there is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth. The DNC should be rebuking him for not only the pure vitriol of the statement which only serves to tear apart our union but, as LEADER OF THE COUNTRY, he’s accusing his political opponents of economic treason.

All, of course to provably further line his pockets and give power to his political cronies who don’t care one wit about the employees or VW at all but furthering the DNC.

so does wages,and working conditions, as rouge* management grows stronger!! back to the ” company store.’

svs22422 on February 15, 2014 at 10:05 AM

There was a need for unions in the early days in some places. I’m from steel country so we had unions up the whatever. They and the environmentalists drove the steel companies out. However the coal company was nothing more than slavery in the olden days. And as much as we deplore actors, they need a union. Their business is so diverse.

crankyoldlady on February 15, 2014 at 10:27 AM

I have no complaint with unions that stick to their proper role of protecting workers against actual predatory management (not to be confused with Union demonization). However, the primary functions of today’s unions appear to be (1) lining the pockets of the leaders, and (2) lining the pockets of Dem politicians; while incidentally (necessarily because of their methods, and sometimes deliberately) destroying the economy of the world.

*Is Mary Kay unionized? Spell-check is not your friend, when you don’t know the word you are looking for.

I’ve been disgusted by what Obama has said but that right there is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth. The DNC should be rebuking him for not only the pure vitriol of the statement which only serves to tear apart our union but, as LEADER OF THE COUNTRY, he’s accusing his political opponents of economic treason.
All, of course to provably further line his pockets and give power to his political cronies who don’t care one wit about the employees or VW at all but furthering the DNC.
Skywise on February 15, 2014 at 10:48 AM

Everyone who saw Obama’s SOTU Declaration of Coup speech is a witness to his act of Treason. Only two are required for conviction.

maybe the day will come when these ”righteous companys ” wont have to leave the good ol USA, and make their junk right here. maybe they wont have to leave so they can skirt regulations,pollute at will. maybe my grandkids can make Chinese wages. maybe instead of buying a house, maybe their company will furnish dorms for them right at the plant. isn’t it so wonderful to give all the power to the company’s, coz we know the company only has their best interest at heart. isn’t it so wonderful to give all the power to the powerful and political connected. unions do have their many faults, and iam firmly against public sector unions, but unions have played a positive role in this country.

President Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers…

My God.

I’ve been disgusted by what Obama has said but that right there is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth. The DNC should be rebuking him for not only the pure vitriol of the statement which only serves to tear apart our union but, as LEADER OF THE COUNTRY, he’s accusing his political opponents of economic treason.

All, of course to provably further line his pockets and give power to his political cronies who don’t care one wit about the employees or VW at all but furthering the DNC.

Skywise on February 15, 2014 at 10:48 AM

It is highly unlikely that all of the shareholders of VW are German nationals.
I suspect most of the fiscally rational US investors and mutual funds hold stakes in the popular car company.

maybe the day will come when these ”righteous companys ” wont have to leave the good ol USA, and make their junk right here. maybe they wont have to leave so they can skirt regulations,pollute at will. maybe my grandkids can make Chinese wages. maybe instead of buying a house, maybe their company will furnish dorms for them right at the plant. isn’t it so wonderful to give all the power to the company’s, coz we know the company only has their best interest at heart. isn’t it so wonderful to give all the power to the powerful and political connected. unions do have their many faults, and iam firmly against public sector unions, but unions have played a positive role in this country.

unions do have their many faults, and iam firmly against public sector unions, but unions have played a positive role in this country.

svs22422 on February 15, 2014 at 10:57 AM

All of this is true (emphasis on “have” played).
However, the rest of your screed (which does not rise to the level of debatable argument) is a woefully inadequate view of global economic reality, driven by ineluctable US regulations.

isn’t it so wonderful to give all the power to the powerful and political connected.

That would be the role of our politicans; union leaders and management are all playing the same game of manipulating government regs for their own benefit.

This is the direct result of the UAW’s decision to kill the car companies with legacy costs. No flexibility in negotiations, which ended with US, THE TAXPAYERS, losing over $10 BILLION dollars rescuing the car companies.

conservative hispanic on February 15, 2014 at 8:54 AM

Pretty much my point. Such a tiny fraction of U.S. labor is currently involved with the unions that blaming unions for the failure of our economy is now along the lines of Obummer blaming George Bush. Anti-unionism is pretty much just red meat for many Conservatives.

From what I’ve been reading over the last few years, the vast majority of businesses closing and layoffs have nothing to do with unionized labor.

Dr. ZhivBlago on February 15, 2014 at 8:36 AM

You need some new reading material Doc. You do know where all of the Union’s money goes right? You must have forgotten the sarc tag.

Vince on February 15, 2014 at 8:56 AM

I’m well aware of where most of their money goes. Would you feel any better about unions if most of it went to Republicans instead?

As for reading material, go to DailyJobCuts (or Google, whatever) and come back and tell me how many of those businesses that have shut down or how many of the layoffs involve unionized labor.

I’ll check back later…

I’m in no way defending the thugs that run these unions, nor their overly entitled membership, but I don’t like to be fed table scrap propaganda that obfuscates the real issues. The real issues are that too many jobs have gone overseas, fiat currency is being “printed” in record numbers, we’re being ripped off by select interests in record amounts, and the Socialists running our country are driving it into the sewer.

And the other part is that many of these major corporations and banks are using the system to rob us blind. Quit defending them just because they are supposedly capitalists-they aren’t making their money off of free enterprise competition. And if there is no free enterprise competition, then all you have left is Fascism, Socialism or whatever you want to call it.